Dell Dim 8400 Issues

My 8400 Dell has been acting up for over a year now. After a fresh install it will run well, but after several days, it begins to run bad, and at times just either shuts down or re-boots on it's own. After several times of this, it begins to lock up and goes down hill from there. Then, if I do another fresh install, I go through the same thing again.

I have a feeling that there is either a overheating issue or the power supply is not regulating things properly.

Any ideas on what you may think is causing this. I have tried removing and replacing the ram and all other plugs, but it does not help.

Nope, I tried it.......... Both hard drives are AOK. I beleive it's the power supply...... What do you think? Any other ideas......Nope, I tried it.......... Both hard drives are AOK. I beleive it's the power supply...... What do you think? Any other ideas......

Hi Steve,
The problem that you are facing is most likely because of bad harddrive. As you have already replaced the RAM. To confim the same , run a diagnostics on the Hardrive. You can run the same in two ways .

Check if have the utilitu partision still left on the hardrive
1. Tap on the F12 key 5 - 6 times when you see the Dell splash screen , before windows starts to load.
2. Select Hardrive diagnostics or IDE diagnostics

If the above is no there , look for the dell Rescouce cd
1. Boot the system using the dell Resource Cd.
2. Select 32 bit diagnostics from the menu
3. Run a custom test on the hdd.

If the hardrive fails , replace the same, otherwise try swaping it connector cable with the optical cable.

If the hardrives, have passed the diagnostics , then you are correct in reaching the conclusion that the power supply is bad . Try reseating the 20 pin power connector on the mothereboard ie. jack is labeled as P1 also reseat the processor power input that is labeled as P2 .

Thanks

ProtonIf the hardrives, have passed the diagnostics , then you are correct in reaching the conclusion that the power supply is bad . Try reseating the 20 pin power connector on the mothereboard ie. jack is labeled as P1 also reseat the processor power input that is labeled as P2 .

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Related Questions:

If it still acts up, compare wiring of the large motherboard Molex connector to the original. Dell used a variant that does not interchange. The enable wire is in a different location from standard ATX location.

If the processor is an AMD, remove cbattery and clear BIOS, and then try again.

Usually you have enough power to light LED lights, (Like the harddrive activity LED light for add-in cards, that you see on the motherboard), and spin fans, but Not enough power to turn the Processor on.

The Dimension 8400 comes with an ATX style of Power Supply, that has a maximum rated Wattage of 250 Watts.1) ALL of the LED lights combined use less than 1 Watt of power.2) EACH fan uses 2 to 3 Watts3) A typical Processor can use 51 to 125 Watts.

Your Power Supply just has enough power to light that LED light.Weak voltage power rail.Replace the Power Supply.

[ There are three power rails inside that SMPS.Switched-Mode Power Supply.

1) The 3.3 Volt power rail2) The 5 Volt power rail3) The 12 Volt power rail ]

The ATX form factor for a Power Supply refers to the size, and shape of the case, for one.Approximately 6 inches Wide, 5.5 inches Long, and 3-1/2 inches Tall.The ATX power supply case in the Dimension 8400 however, is shorter in length.It is 4 inches Long. (Depth)

Not an advertisement for the website, nor manufacturer.Reference for the case size, and power cables needed,

You may have a Power Supply with these dimensions, and needed power cables, in an unused computer.Perhaps someone has upgraded to a better computer, and has an unused computer that you can temporarily borrow the Power Supply for a test unit.

Make sure it has at least 250 Watts (Maximum rated wattage), plus,

1) 20-pin ATX main power cable. (Or a 20 + 4-pin ATX main power cable)

I would think the batteries need replacing. That happened to my Dell Latitude CPI. The batteries won't charge past about 3%, so I got new ones and that did the trick. If this is under a year old I would contact Dell about it, if it is under a year old they should replace the batteries.

Hi,
It not a common problem. The problem that you are facing is is beacuse of faulty motherboard. The blinking amber is caused , becasue the motherboard is not able to distribute the power signal to the devices . You can follow the link below to trouleshoot the problem if you are comfortable in opening the computer chassis

1) A lot of people have just removed the Jumper for the CMOS and turned the Power back on and back off and replaced the jumper and/or removed the battery.

2) Several people have reseated the Memory and after booting back up it worked.

3) A few had to replace the Mother Board and CPU but in this instance they had to also replace the Case because the Dell case wasn't really fit for the heat of from the CPU.

4) I had the exact same problem and luckily replacing the Power Supply fixed this for me. I had to cut out the back of the Dell case for the toggle on/off switch but when I tested the old Power Supply it was only getting 5amps and this was causing the Amber/Orange/Yellow light to constantly flash.

power supply is probably shot and you are feeding a voltage way over what is needed. I have a dell that refused to operate one day. I went to www dot affordablesurplus dot com and found a 350 watt power supply with all the RIGHT plugs. Never had a problem since.